Nov 23, 2025 – Temper
It’s no easy task to wrangle my weighted neck & shoulder heating pad into place. Each time I attempt to get it situated, I feel like I’m about to throw out my good shoulder. As I was concentrating on positioning while staring out into the black morning sky (I’m up early), my gaze drifted over to the magazine rack leaning on the wall (that I’ve never asked Don to hang) and an article title caught my eye: “No More Tiredness”. Really? I don’t see how that is entirely possible in any season of life.
Of course, if I find myself dragging through my days, and don’t have anything logical (like caring for a newborn child or sick loved one or an aching shoulder) to blame it on (I mean attribute it to), I need to look for a cause. Our bodies daily go through natural cycles of activity and rest, but when one or the other overtakes the natural, we shouldn’t allow that to be our stasis for very long, at least not without seeking help (or reading an article, which many times is likely put before us by our benevolent and caring Holy Spirit who is always with us and therefore knows what is going on with us.) Tiredness can definitely be an indicator, but it can also simply be our loving Father telling us to slow down a bit in order to avoid something worse.
Certainly there are seasons of life that are busier than others and our bodies are amazingly capable of dealing with added stress and burdens, for a season; but, not forever. I find myself thinking how God designed our bodies to handle all that comes with child-bearing and rearing. This includes men as well, even the bearing to a certain extent, as most of them empathize to the best of their ability (and likely are so glad to be male!) But everything should be in moderation and with the goal of balance. Twins (and multiple children of any age) can challenge that theory a bit; but, still, it’s possible to endure and even enjoy those blessed years of our lives, especially if we are leaning on God as we move through them. I’m finding that I need to learn to apply that logic even more adeptly as age (and aches and pains) creep in.
Utmost – “The thing of which we have to beware is not so much damage to our belief in God as damage to our Christian temper.” Boy do I ever relate to that. Tiredness, and aches (in a shoulder), can really wreak havoc with our ability to cope and with our ability to even be nice at times! Chambers quotes someone he doesn’t name, I suppose it’s a Bible verse I don’t recognize, “Therefore take heed to thy spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.” Exhaustion and pain can cause our tempers to be a little treacherous at times. Typically, the excerpts I choose from the devotions can stand alone; but, sometimes, the devotions call to be shared in their entirety (especially when I’m gleaning a fresh understanding and not just a reminder).
Chambers continues, “The temper of mind is tremendous in its effects, it is the enemy that penetrates right into the soul and distracts the mind from God. There are certain tempers of mind in which we never dare indulge; If we do, we find they have distracted us from faith in God, and until we get back to the quiet mood before God, our faith in Him is nil, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is the thing that rules. Beware of ‘the cares of this world’, because they are the things that produce a wrong temper of the soul. It is extraordinary what an enormous power there is in simple things to distract our attention from God. Refuse to be swamped with the cares of this life.” I find myself musing over the brilliance of tiredness and how it affords us the opportunity to rest and remember to seek God in that “quiet mood”. We should seek to remind ourselves that there is healing (of body, mind, and spirit) while resting.
Here’s where Chambers really affected me this morning, “Another thing that distracts us is the lust of vindication. St. Augustine prayed – ‘O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.’ That temper of mind destroys the soul’s faith in God. ‘I must explain myself; I must get people to understand.’ Our Lord never explained anything; He left mistakes to correct themselves. When we discern that people are not going on spiritually and allow the discernment to turn to criticism, we block our way to God. God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.” Gulp. I think one of the biggest roadblocks in communication in relationships of any kind is in wanting to be understood and then, secondly, to understand. Both of these can tend to drive us to judgment and criticism. What a relief to realize those are not ours to dole out! Just intercede in prayer, and offer to listen and help if possible.
There’s more I’d like to unpack on this (and there are more devotions to look to for God’s intercession on this subject and whatever else He wants to convey today), but my alarm went off so it’s time to get ready for 8am church and “At the Movies”!
[Note: I’m guessing the intention of a weighted heating pad was for added comfort; however, I wouldn’t recommend it for a weak shoulder recovering from surgery. Well, actually what I wouldn’t recommend in this case is turning the heating pad so that all of the weight is on said weak shoulder. The heat and the weight are pretty nice for an aching neck and back, worn correctly balanced across both sides – which is a metaphor of today’s thoughts – everything in moderation and shared burdens. ]
